


I Never Stopped Loving You

by HannibabestheCannibabes



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Angst, Awkward reunions, DragonQueen, Drinking, F/F, Fluff, Lots of drinking, SeaDevil
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-31
Updated: 2015-08-27
Packaged: 2018-03-20 14:18:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,884
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3653529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HannibabestheCannibabes/pseuds/HannibabestheCannibabes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cruella De Vil and Ursula, perhaps the most unlikely of villainous couples, have been reunited after 30 years of thinking they could never be together. But now they have hope in the form of Storybrooke and this mysterious Author. It's time for bitter home-truths, an emotional reunion, and then pure, unadulterated SeaDevil.</p>
<p>(I jump back to the beginning of their relationship in Chapter 4, and might jump between. I might later add some chapters looking at their split in New York also).</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**I am basically in love with SeaDevil, so this fanfic is my shipper's response to the heartbreak that was 'Poor Unfortunate Souls.' Enjoy.**

 

‘Are you absolutely sure this is the only place we can stay in? It’s positively ghastly.’ Cruella wrinkled her nose as she entered the dingy motel room, scanning it briefly before her eyes stopped on the one double bed in the middle. ‘At the very least, we could have separate rooms.’

‘With what money, exactly? I’m broke. Rumple’s been sleeping on my sofa for the past 6 weeks, and now we find out you’re broke too,’ Ursula drawled, following the taller woman into the room. She immediately took off her coat and flung it onto the bed. The room was hardly much worse than her own apartment. ‘It’s for your sake only we bothered stopping here at all. I know the Dark One and I would much rather be on our way to our happy endings right now.’

It was only earlier that day that Ursula and Rumpelstiltskin had arrived at Long Island to watch as their old ally’s possessions were carted away by the US Government, leaving her penniless aside from the coins in her purse, a car full of driving tickets, and the fur she managed to reclaim. While they’d managed to get her onboard with Rumple’s ridiculous ‘happy endings’ plan, the idea of a seven hour drive had not quite gone down so easily.

‘I’m hungover, darling; I could hardly be expected to drive through the night.’ Cruella sat down gingerly on the bed, keeping her furs close around her shoulders; as if she feared just sitting down would result in disease of some kind. ‘Speaking of, you wouldn’t happen to have any liquor on you at all? I haven’t had a sober night in years.’

‘Did you miss the part when I said I was broke?’ Ursula couldn’t help rolling her eyes, slightly disgusted at the state her old friend was in. ‘Besides, you’re driving tomorrow. No breaks. No more stops. We don’t have the time. And I do not want you driving intoxicated in any way.’

‘Why? Don’t you trust me?’ The fur clad woman asked, her lips curled mockingly, as she leant back on the bed.  ‘I’m a perfectly safe driver.’

‘Oh yeah, that’s exactly what all your speeding fines say.’ She turned away from the bed and Cruella’s piercing gaze, trying to resist saying all the words now swarming in her head. But she couldn’t. ‘You’re a fine one to talk about trust anyway, Cruella. You really think after you left me alone in a completely new World, so you could marry some rich old man and wear fur and drink gin that I’d ever be able to trust you again? Never mind trust you to get me to my happy ending?’

‘How did I know this was going to come up? Darling, we’ve only been here about 5 minutes, and it was 30 years ago…’

‘Exactly. We haven’t seen each other in 30 years. Not even a call. Or a letter. I didn’t even know where you were.’

‘I sent you a cheque after the wedding. You received that?’ Cruella stood up and approached the Sea Witch, as if to comfort her in some way. Ursula pushed her hands away angrily.

‘Don’t touch me; I don’t need your pity. And I have never needed your charity. I burnt your lousy cheque.’

‘You’re so stubborn.’

‘And you’re so selfish,’ Ursula hissed, eyes narrowed as she watched the other woman stalk off to the other side of the room, lighting a cigarette as she did. Again, she could feel words heavy on her tongue that this time; she didn’t even try to stop herself from saying them. ‘You left me, Cruella. You left me alone, almost penniless, in some unknown city in some unknown World so you could go prostitute yourself for easy money and expensive booze. I don’t know how you’ve been spinning it to yourself all these years, but there it is in black and white for you. We came here together. I thought I could rely on you. And then you took the first chance you got to get away from me. And after all that, you thought you could send me a cheque and I’d let it go? You thought you could pay me off? Or was it compensation? Because no amount of money would ever compensate me for the long days I have had to spend without you, or the longer nights.’

She stopped suddenly, as if quite shocked at her own outburst.

_This was 30 years of frustration and anger_ , Cruella thought as she put her cigarette down, stabbing it out on the bedside table, scorching the wood without realising as all her focus lay with the blonde woman in front of her. With regret, another thought crossed her mind. _And heartbreak. 30 years of heartbreak_.

‘Ursula, I never meant for this…’

‘At least tell me you were happy.’ She was almost whispering, tears slipping down her cheeks. Tears she had never meant for Cruella to ever see, but she could no longer care. ‘At least tell me that you found happiness in this World, even if it was without me. Tell me that you left me for something worthwhile. That you left us, what we had, for something that made you happier. Tell me my heartbreak meant something.’

The pleading in her voice caused Cruella herself to feel the tears beginning to form in her eyes, a bite at the back of her throat as she felt a sob near. She tried to force them both back, shaking her head and replying with a bitter joke. ‘Darling, it was marriage. It’s not meant to make anyone happy…’

‘Don’t, Cruella. Don’t you dare try squirm your way out of this. Just tell me if it…if he made you happy. Were you happier with him?’

‘And what if I say no?’ She sat down on the bed tiredly, all concern for hygiene standards gone. She kept her back to the Sea Witch and she let her voice choke with emotion as she finally gave in to her tears. ‘It was ghastly, darling, if you want the truth. I regret every minute I spent in that house with him, and I wasn’t with you. I regretted it from the moment I left, because I knew I could never go back.’

‘You could have come back. I would have been there,’ Ursula said earnestly, as she sat down beside her. She was met with a mocking cackle.

‘Please don’t try to fool me. We both know you would never have opened the door to me, even if I’d been on my hands and knees. You have too much pride.’

‘You didn’t know that.’

‘I knew you, darling. Better than you know yourself, it seems. Certainly better than I knew myself.’ She shook her head. ‘I didn’t think I could stand living in that apartment. In that city. It was so big and we were so ordinary. It felt like taking five steps backwards. Like falling back to where I began. And you know how I’ve always loved the dramatics. The wealth. The attention.  I thought having those at any price would make me happier than being nobody. But the marriage was a sham from the start.  I don’t know what I expected. All he wanted was some _thing_ on his arm. Someone he could show off. Someone he could _use_ when he wanted.’

‘Look, Cruella, I really do not want to hear about your marital activities between the sheets…’

‘No, I never could. Every time he tried to come near, all I could do was think of you.’ She took both of Ursula’s hands in hers, all trace of any mocking sneer gone from her face. Her cheeks were stained with mascara blackened tears. Her eyes wide. She looked the most vulnerable Ursula had seen her in 30 years. ‘I never stopped loving you, darling. I don’t think I ever could.’

Ursula took her hands away quickly and stood up. ‘You don’t get to do this to me, Cru. Not now. It’s been 30 years since we last saw each other. You can’t do this to me now.’

‘I know. I know.’ She followed suit, standing up and taking Ursula’s hand in hers once again. The Sea Witch didn’t try and shake her touch, instead looking down at their joined hands before looking at her ex-lover once again. ‘But we could try again. I fucked us up last time, I know that. And if I had the power to, I would change it. I don’t have that power. But we’re going to find a man who does. If the Dark One’s right, if there is truly a place in this World with magic, with some magical Author who can write us villains a happy ending, then maybe we can have ours. Together. As it should have been.’ She took a step closer, taking Ursula’s other hand and sliding them beneath her furs so that Ursula was embracing her once more. When she spoke again, her voice was lower, a voice she well knew Ursula could not resist. ‘And surely you want that too? Surely you never stopped loving me either?’

‘You know very well I could never stop loving you.’ Cruella might have had all the words, but it was Ursula who finally pulled the other woman close and kissed her. Even with the 30 years of distance between them, the kiss, the pressure, the movement, the warmth of each other’s hands on their bodies, was just as they remembered it to be.

They were both suddenly very grateful for the double bed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

**I warn you, updates will not be this fast all the time. But currently, I'm procrastinating work.**

**Also, take their relationship with Maleficent however you want. I'm not ruling _anything_ out...enjoy!**

‘Are we just going from hotel room to hotel room? This one is just as ghastly as the first one.’

They’d been directed by the Dark One to somewhere called _Granny’s_ , which was what Cruella could only assume to be a classless Bed and Breakfast. Not that the hospitality helped. They’d been scowled at when they’d walked in; a couple of keys thrust in their faces, and wordlessly pointed up the stairs. It was bizarre, Cruella couldn’t remember ever killing, injuring, or even vaguely threatening anyone named _Granny_. And she felt that was something that would stick in her mind.

‘Rumple said it’s only for the first week or so. Just until we have plans in motion.’ Ursula couldn’t help but smirk at her rekindled lover’s disgust as she scowled at their room. As she turned around, a look of complete exasperation on her face, Ursula laughed. ‘Besides, this room is nice. It’s clean, at least. And homely.’

‘I don’t want homely. I’ve never liked the idea.  I want a mansion and a dozen furs. Not some rustic cabin.’ She grimaced as she looked down at the bed. ‘Eurgh, and patchwork quilt.’

‘Trust me, I know you’ve never liked domesticity,’ she said, failing to quite keep the cold out of her voice.

‘Oh, darling, I’m so sorry. I hadn’t quite meant that to sound so tactless.’ She had expected Cruella to snap at her. Tell her after last night, she should have let everything go. Ursula couldn’t help but be pleasantly surprised with this response instead.

‘Please, if you’d suddenly developed even a sense of tact, I’m not sure we’d quite work out anymore.’ She hung her coat up on the coat stand in the corner of the room, before placing her suitcase next to it and calling over her shoulder to Cruella, ‘I’m assuming I get the whole wardrobe then, seeing as you don’t actually have anything?’

‘Please, darling, not for much longer. Now we’re back, I’m expecting Rumple will be able to fully finance our stay. I mean he already paid for our rooms.’ She had been laid on the bed, as inelegant as was possible in the dress she was still wearing, but she sat up suddenly, a look of curiosity on her face. ‘Any special reason you asked for two rooms? I naturally assumed we could share again tonight.’

‘You know, I don’t remember you this clingy, Cru.’ Ursula smirked, looking over her shoulder as she hung her clothes up to see Cruella pouting angrily. ‘Couldn’t give anything away to those heroes so quickly, could we? Besides, after tomorrow, we’ll have Maleficent back and I really didn’t fancy fitting the three of us in one bed.’

‘Those days are definitely long behind us.’

‘Maleficent got boring after she got pregnant. I dread to think what losing her kid did to her.’

‘Well, we’ll find out tomorrow.’ Cruella cocked her head slightly, like the puppies she loved wearing so much. ‘Tell me, darling, do you think Rumple was telling the truth about bringing Mal back? I know he’s the Dark One, but does he have that sort of power? He’s spent six weeks hobbling around your apartment eating microwave food, after all.’

‘He gave us all the steps involved. Even if he can’t do it, he certainly thinks he can.’ Ursula took a last look at her clothes hanging sparsely in the wardrobe, before closing the doors and walking over to her fellow villain on the bed. She sat down, removed her shoes finally, and sat back against the headboard, legs stretched out in front of her. Cruella smiled, and lay back down, resting her head in the Sea Witch’s lap. Ursula began to run her fingers through her lover’s hair, the contrasting colours slipping over her skin, and she smiled. ‘Of course, the Charmings don’t come out well of this plan at all.’

Cruella cackled. ‘They’ll be positively furious.’

‘Not that they don’t deserve it. After what they did.’

‘They kidnap a woman’s child and we’re still the villains.’

‘And then threatening us if we don’t keep quiet? You’d think they run this town.’

‘If the Dark One let himself be banished by his scullery maid, you can be sure the heroes definitely run this town.’ Cruella waved a hand in the direction of the desk. ‘Just talking about these heroes is making me irritable. You couldn’t fetch me a cigarette?’

‘You know, I’m pretty sure this is a non-smoking building. Like most buildings nowadays.’

Cruella sat up abruptly, a scowl on her face, and she pulled the fur that had slipped off her shoulders tightly around her. ‘Shoes back on, darling. We’re finding a bar in this ghastly town. I don’t care how dark or dingy or how many heroes there are in it to stare at us. I need a cigarette and a drink. I’m not spending a second night sober.’

Ursula could feel her eyelids heavy from just resting on the bed. Her feet ached from how long she’d spent in heels after years of miserable, unglamorous aquarium work. Despite her time in New York City, she’d never warmed to the smell of cigarette smoke. But she smiled at the fur-clad woman before her; a smile she hadn’t felt was possible in years. ‘My god, I’ve missed you.’

* * *

 

Maleficent had been quiet since her resurrection. Perhaps it was a side-effect from rising from the ashes, quite literally in her case. Or perhaps it was her uneasiness with her surroundings coming through. As Rumpelstiltskin had asked, Cruella and Ursula had taken her to his cabin to get her away from the town, and give her the full details of his plan. She’d listened patiently, but was quick to distraction. They’d been unable to stop themselves from laughing when she’d jumped at the sound  of Rumple’s phone beeping. But then, she may have lived in this World, but she’d spent it locked underground. It was easy to forget that.

‘Mal, what are you doing in there?’ Ursula knocked on the bathroom door, concerned at the silence coming from the room that Maleficent had locked herself in over 20 minutes ago. After leaving Rumple’s cabin when it became clear Maleficent wasn’t going to settle down, and fetching some new clothes from the nearest store in town, Cruella and Ursula had driven her back to _Granny’s_ , careful to keep her from too many prying eyes. Though, then she’d proceeded to take haven in the bathroom.

‘Come on, darling, open the door. We’re concerned.’ Cruella rapped her door lightly also, stood on the other side of the door. ‘If you’re worried that you’re naked, it’s nothing we haven’t seen before.’

They heard the door unlock, and it opened slowly, only to be met with a highly unamused look on their ally’s face. ‘As if that would be my concern.’

‘It’s been 30 years, darling. A lot can change.’

‘Surprisingly, in that time, I have not reverted back into a teenage girl.’ She rolled her eyes, and opened the door wider so both women could enter.

‘Then, what? You’ve been locked in here for over 20 minutes now, ’ Ursula asked, before letting out a low chuckle as Maleficent pointed at the shower in the corner. ‘The shower? You can’t use the shower?’

‘I’m sorry that I didn’t get sucked into a magical portal and got to spend 30 years adapting to this World. But I spent the past 30 years either as a dragon in a cave, or dead. So, yes, I cannot use the phone. Or drive a car. Or operate a…shower?’ She scowled furiously as her two allies cackled in amusement.

Cruella stopped her laughter first, allowing her lips  to curve into a wicked smirk. ‘Oh, Mal, don’t worry. We will happily teach you how to use a shower.’


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**Sorry this chapter is so much longer, but it's the QoD night out from _Enter the Dragon_ , and I wanted to have some fun with it. Expect more SeaDevil, and hinted DragonQueen. Enjoy.**

_One. Two. Three. Shot._

Ursula felt her eyes immediately begin to water as the tequila hit the back of her throat, making her splutter slightly. Her coughing drew a raised eyebrow from Cruella, and an amused smirk from Maleficent, both of whom seemed to have much higher alcohol tolerances than the Sea Witch. This was the first shot of tequila for the evening, but they’d been sat in _Granny’s_ for the past couple of hours, slowing but steadily making their way through her alcohol stock, without yet having handed over anything resembling payment. Not that they cared. Or intended to.

‘I haven’t done tequila in a long time.’ Ursula smiled, definitely beginning to feel the effects of so much alcohol. She nodded to the woman opposite her. ‘Not since that night in New York, Cru.’

Cruella laughed, but more gently than her usual cackle, her mind reminiscing. ‘Oh, I remember that night, darling. Or, perhaps more accurately, I don’t remember that night.’

‘You two were in New York?’ Mal leaned forward, crossing her arms on the table.  ‘The whole time?’

‘No, just for a couple of months.’ Ursula shrugged, unable to quite shake the bitterness from her voice. ‘Then we parted ways.’

‘Someone’s not quite over that yet?’ Maleficent let a smirk slowly spread across her face before stopping suddenly, and leaning back again. When she spoke, her voice was softer. ‘I’d ask for details, but you witches are somehow my friends, and I don’t think that’s what friends do to each other. We’re villains, but we’re not cruel.’

‘At least not to each other.’ Cruella smiled, grateful at the lack of interfering.

 Thankfully, perhaps, it was at this moment that Granny came into the diner from the back, a scowl on her face as her eyes fell on the empty glasses, all stained with red lipstick marks around the rims, that littered the table. Then she noticed the broken lamp, and the darts plunged into the back of one of her chairs. Her face darkened.

‘You ladies have been here long enough. I want you out.’ She leant under the counter and pulled out her shotgun, placing it on the top forcibly. ‘Now.’

The three women all looked at the not so subtle threat and cackled simultaneously. Cruella was the first to stop long enough to speak, though she couldn’t keep the amusement from her voice. ‘You really think you can threaten us with that?’

‘I’m not scared of some ageing gangster, an octopus and a woman with a fur fetish,’ she retorted, unshaken by the three witches. ‘The shotgun is just so you understand that.’

‘Do you even know who I am?’ Maleficent stood up and her two allies exchanged a wicked smile.  Mal began walking slowly over to the counter, a confidence in her walk that came from equal parts believing herself to be the superior in this fight, and alcohol. ‘My name is Maleficent, the Queen of all Evil. I’ve cursed princesses and burnt villages whole. I was threatening kingdoms before you were out of the cradle, however long ago that was. You think the Evil Queen is scary? She was my _student_. So, I suggest next time you dismiss me, you do it with slightly more than some measly weapon and an empty threat.’

By this point, she was at the counter, a smirk on her face as she placed a gloved hand over the shotgun. Granny looked furiously at the witch, before looking over to the table where the remaining women sat.

‘I’d leave if I was you, darling. Mal takes her threats very seriously.’ Cruella took her glass and downed the remainder of the clear drink. ‘I’d leave quickly.’

‘I will be reporting you all to the sheriff.’

‘The blonde woman? She practically invited us in.’ Ursula smirked. Granny, having realised it seems that arguing was impossible, grabbed her shotgun from out of Maleficent’s grasp, and stormed out of the back of the diner, cursing under her breath.

Maleficent leant over the counter top, causing both Cruella and Ursula to sit up slightly, their gaze directed firmly at the much appreciated sight of their ally’s arse in her trousers. They sat back when she turned around, two bottles in hand.

‘Looks like it’s drinks on the house, witches.’

* * *

 

 _One. Two. Three. Shot_.

This time, it was Cruella to gag slightly as the liquid burnt her throat. At the amused looks on both of her allies’ faces, she gave a dismissive wave. ‘I’m more used to gin than vodka. Speaking of, pass me the bottle.’ She gestured to the bottle next to Maleficent and, as if to prove her point, took a long swig. She smirked as she put the bottle down and met Ursula’s disapproving stare. ‘I never promised I was classy, darling.’

‘When did I say I wanted that?’ The Sea Witch purred, leaning across the table towards her lover.

‘Please, I do not need to see you two right now.’ Mal rolled her eyes, taking a long sip of her drink. It was strong, perhaps too strong, but she wanted the liquid courage before she spoke again. ‘So, the portal that brought you here…took you both to New York?’

‘Oh please, darling, I thought we’d gone through this…’

‘No, Mal, we didn’t find your child.’ Ursula interrupted, having worked out before their less sensitive companion what Maleficent was about to ask from the pained look on her face. At the disappointing news, it passed over, her face stony cold once more. ‘We tried looking. We spent weeks, months. In and out of hospitals, orphanages. We read newspapers in case there were reports but nothing.’

‘Nothing at all?’

‘Looking for a child you’ve never seen, especially a magic child in a World without magic, is incredibly hard. Babies just seem to blur into each other after a while.’ Despite her unsympathetic words, Cruella was softer when she spoke. She placed her hand over her friend’s, noting the tears that had begun to form in her eyes. ‘If it helps, darling, we had to pretend we were looking to adopt together, and we spent those months being treated as complete fools. We weren’t the most conventional of couples in the Enchanted Forest, never mind in this World.’

It was enough to raise a smile on the Dragon’s face.

And then Regina entered.

* * *

 

She was struggling to keep up. Regina could feel her head spin if she moved it too quickly and that was usually a bad sign. The first shot had been easy. The second, third and fourth not so much. She was beginning to regret coming out in heels, however much they helped her look the part of evil villain still. It was more embarrassing as across the table, Cruella and Ursula both seemed to be relatively sober, despite the amount of liquor that seemed to be being consumed, especially on Cruella’s part. Maleficent was drinking more slowly, her attention fully on the Evil Queen, a mix of curiosity and amusement on her face.

‘So, we’ve heard you’re looking for the Author too then, Regina?’ Maleficent asked, as she poured another shot of clear liquid into a glass and pushed it in front of her former ally. At the Mayor’s quizzical look, she shrugged. ‘This is a small town. You hear things. Now drink.’

Regina groaned, yet willingly complied, knocking back the drink with a drunken attempt at regal elegance. After a small grimace at the burning alcohol, she smiled slightly. ‘Yes, just like you, I want my happy ending.’

‘And which of the heroes will you be taking down to get that?’ Ursula asked, leaning back into Cruella as she put an arm around her shoulders. ‘Snow White? Prince Charming?’

‘No, the sheriff.’

‘That is Charming, Cru, didn’t you recognise him?’

‘No, darling, not him, I’d recognise his face anywhere. The blonde one. The woman.’

‘You mean Emma Swan.’ Regina raised an eyebrow. Perhaps Cruella and Ursula were a lot drunker than they were letting on. ‘And no, Miss Swan’s a pain and has caused me a lot of trouble, but I don’t need her demise to get what I want.’

‘Darling, we’re villains; we don’t need reasons to cause people’s demise. That’s the fun of it all.’

‘I just want my happiness back. I will take anyone down who tries to stop me, but I have better things to do with my time than focus on the unimportant.’

‘And what is your happy ending then, Regina?’ Maleficent asked. She went to lean on the table before remembering the alcohol that had been spilt and deciding to remain sat back. ‘If it isn’t still killing Snow White, then it’s changed since we first met. Which is unfortunate, as that was such a admirable goal.’

She didn’t answer immediately, clearly hesitant. The fur-clad woman sat opposite her rolled her eyes with a loud sigh. ‘Come on. We don’t have all night.’ When the Mayor still refused to speak, she reached over and grabbed the bottle of tequila. ‘For every moment longer you waste, you can take a shot.’

‘I can’t manage any more alcohol right now.’ Regina shook her head. ‘If you all must know, I lost someone that I loved. Robin Hood. He had to leave. I want the Author to bring him back.’

There was a collective groan from the three women around the table. Maleficent was the first to speak, clearly disappointed with her former friend. ‘You’re doing all this for a homeless outlaw who probably has not showered in ten years?’

‘He’s more than that. He’s my…’

‘Your happy ending?’ Ursula asked mockingly. ‘Please, Regina, you’re the Evil Queen. You can’t truly think your happy ending is with him? Or with any man?’

‘I’m afraid, darling, that there’s no such thing as a happy ending once you get a man involved,’ Cruella said. ‘Especially some ghastly hero like Robin Hood.’

‘Your happy ending doesn’t need to involve a man. Look at us, the last thing any of us want is a man, but that doesn’t stop us pursuing our happy endings.’ The Sea Witch smiled, almost knowingly, though it could have just been the alcohol. ‘You can do so much better than some guy. All of us can. Find yourself a better happy ending. One that doesn’t involve a homeless hero with a dick.’

‘Yes, well seeing as you’re currently being heavy petted by a woman more accustomed to skinning her animals than keeping them, and I’m pretty sure your tentacles aren’t quite where they should be for polite society, forgive me if I don’t quite listen to that wonderful advice there.’ Regina smirked, taking her glass, refilling it, and downing the liquid in one swallow. Cruella and Ursula opposite sat silent, foul looks on both their faces.

‘You used to be more fun than this, Regina.’ Maleficent shrugged, her voice teasing. ‘You remember the first time we met? I don’t quite think my castle had ever seen such fun as when you stayed those few weeks.’

‘I was very young. I appear to have grown up since then.’

‘You got boring.’

Regina had to stop herself from flipping, the three women’s eyes all staring at her, trying to see through the act she was putting on. She took a deep breath and smiled. ‘Would you excuse me? I’ll be back.’

She was gone in a puff of purple smoke, unnecessary except to prove she could still do it. If the aim had been for such a display to remind the three of who she was still, it failed miserably. The minute she was gone, the three villains leaned forward, ignoring the sticky alcohol on the table, whispering.

‘She’s a hero still, Mal. We can’t trust her.’

‘I’m with Cru on this. You heard her. She thinks her happy ending is with a hero. She doesn’t even want revenge on Snow White and everyone knows their history.’ The Sea Witch frowned, a tentacle pouring a drink for her while she rested her chin on her hands. ‘She’s gone completely soft.’

‘I know how much she meant to you, darling. How much it would mean to you if she was still the Evil Queen.’ Cruella reached over and took Maleficent’s hand in a drunken, sincere gesture. ‘And she’d have been a very welcome plaything for us. But she’s just spent too long with all these heroes. She’s turned sickly sweet.’

‘I want to give her a chance. When she first arrived at my castle all those years ago, she was just as sickly sweet as she is now, just a little more bent on revenge. But I corrupted her then. I can corrupt her now.’ The Dragon smirked as she caught Cruella’s eyes. ‘Besides, she’ll still make a good plaything. We can play a little game. Really test her out a little.’

‘That sounds more like it.’

‘But let’s make it fun.’ She reached behind her neck and unclipped the necklace she was wearing, placing it on the table next to Cruella’s glass. ‘If you’re right, if she truly has gone soft, the necklace is yours. I know you can’t resist anything that glitters, Cru.’

‘Forget glitter. Anything with a bit of worth.’ She reached out to inspect the necklace, but Maleficent snatched it back, slipping it into her inside jacket pocket. ‘Fine. And if you win?’

‘If I win, I want the Sea Witch for the night.’

‘Deal,’ Ursula said, before the words had even had chance to register in her lover’s mind, and Mal gave a surprised smile.

‘Darling?’

‘Please. Regina will fail. This just ups the stakes a little bit.’

It was at this point that Regina decided to walk back into the diner from the back, her eyebrow raised as if aware they had been talking without her. The moment Maleficent saw her; she stood up, smiling still.

‘Time to leave. We’ve caused this old bag enough damage for one evening. Or, nearly enough.’ With a flick of the wrist, she lit a table on fire in the corner and she cackled, as if impressed with her own ability still. ‘Everyone grab a bottle. Or two. I doubt this town drinks much anyway. They’re hardly going to miss it.’

‘Where are we going?’ Regina frowned, yet still picking up the half-empty spirits from the table.

‘We’re going to play a little game, darling.’ Cruella smirked. ‘A game it seems no-one can quite afford to lose.’

* * *

 

Regina did lose, of course, a loss that meant more to Maleficent than simply the loss of a night with Ursula. Though it was then the Mayor’s idea to steal the sheriff’s car. Something about stopping her from bringing Regina anymore grilled cheese sandwiches. Nobody quite understood it, but it seemed good enough. It was Mal’s idea, however, to burn it in a fireball throwing competition with the Mayor, while Cruella and Ursula stood on the side, paying little attention in comparison to the attention they were paying to each other. Once the car was well and truly torched, and both the Mayor and the Dragon were beginning to feel nauseous at the heavy make-out session their fellow allies seemed to be enjoying, it was Regina who suggested they finish the alcohol off in her vault.

‘Don’t you get sick of being in a town full of heroes?’ Ursula asked as she took a long swig of the whisky bottle in her hand, before passing it to Cruella. ‘Watching them all get their happy endings, knowing that they’re the people who ruined your happiness? Ruined all villains’ happiness?’

‘Of course I do. It takes a lot of self-restraint every day not to curse Snow White into a toad.’ Regina was sat on the floor of her vault, at Maleficent’s feet, as the Dragon ran her fingers gently through the Evil Queen’s hair. ‘But I’m on my own here. I tried being a villain still and all I got were my plans ruined by the heroes again. So I tried to fit in, instead, wait until I had some support.’

‘You mean there was no-one here before?’

‘Well, there was Gold.’ Noting the looks of confusion of the three witches’ faces, she corrected herself. ‘Rumpelstiltskin. There was Rumpelstiltskin. But he got distracted with Belle…’

‘The scullery maid?’ Cruella smirked. ‘Yes, we’ve met her. Hardly anything special.’

‘Well, he clearly thought so. So much so that he’d rather be banished by her, than hurt her.’ Regina shrugged, as Maleficent leant forward to hand her the remainder of the bottle in her hand, and whisper something in her ear that caused the mayor to smile wickedly.

As she sat back up, Maleficent looked over at Ursula, catching her eyes with a raised eyebrow, and she stood up before pulling Cruella to her feet also. The Sea Witch gave a low whisper in her lover’s ear and she gave a low chuckle.

‘Well, Mal, we’d better be going. Before that old dog decides to throw us out of our rooms.’ They went to leave the vault, Cruella stopping momentarily to grab the gin left on the floor. ‘Have a fun night, darling.’

And with that, they stumbled out of the vault, leaving Maleficent and Regina alone to finally catch up after over 30 years.

* * *

 

‘I can’t believe you let yourself be bet to that Dragon.’ They had pretty much fallen into their room, after about five minutes of Cruella fumbling with the key in the lock, until Ursula pointed out she was trying to unlock the door with her car keys. They had then both collapsed onto the bed, desperately trying to keep still to fight the nausea. Cruella, who had shed her fur by this point, throwing it in a heap on the floor, suddenly sat up. ‘Darling, help me get these trousers off.’

‘You can’t just sleep in them?’ Ursula moaned, sitting up more slowly than her companion.

‘If I sleep in them, I’ll never get them off.’

‘If this is a play, know that I’d love to but I’m far too drunk right now.’ Ursula stood up and edged her way around the bed. ‘Fuck knows how Maleficent and Regina will get anything done.’

‘Do you think they will?’ Cruella lifted her hips while Ursula pulled on the leather, slowly working them off. ‘I mean, they haven’t seen each other in 30 years.’

‘We hadn’t seen each other in 30 years and look at us. We didn’t even have alcohol to help.’ She fell backwards as she finally got Cruella’s trousers off, and she rolled further onto the bed. Within a couple of moments, the rest of her clothes were thrown to a corner of the room and she was laid completely naked in the middle of the mattress.

Ursula stood up and raised an eyebrow, as she also began to undress. ‘You better shift over. I’m not being nice tonight.’

‘Fine, darling.’ Cruella rolled over once more, so she had her back to the Sea Witch. When she felt her climb into bed, she reached behind her and grabbed her hand, pulling her over to spoon her.

‘Cru, I’m not sure how long I can lie like this, I’m not feeling too good…’

‘Do you know why I ended up penniless in my marriage, Urs?’ She wasn’t really entirely sure of what she was saying anymore. Words just falling out of her mouth in a mixture of alcohol abuse and tiredness. ‘My ghastly husband blew our whole fortune on hookers. Drugs and hookers.’

‘What?’

Though, by this time, Cruella was fast asleep, lightly snoring and Ursula had no choice but to, after a few deep breaths to steady herself, pull herself closer to her lover and let herself give in to sleep also.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**This chapter is set back at the very beginning of Cruella and Ursula's relationship, just after the Chernabog incident in S4Ep13. I might spend a couple of chapters looking at their relationship in the Enchanted Forest, as well as their relationship with Maleficent. I'm not sure yet.**

Ursula disliked being so far away from the sea. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d spent more than a couple of hours away from the ocean, never mind the days it had been since she’d been summoned to the Dragon’s castle by the Dark One. She missed the scent of the saltwater, the freedom of the water. Her tentacles felt dryer every day she was away from her watery home, though she knew that was probably just her imagination. Though the Sea Witch couldn’t fault Maleficent’s hospitality. She’d let her fellow villains stay at her castle after their encounter with the Chernabog. Cruella de Vil had instantly taken up residence in Maleficent’s main hall; while Maleficent herself had transformed into her dragon form and decided to take out her frustration with Rumpelstiltskin on the local villagers. Ursula had been walking around the castle, wandering aimlessly under the guise of exploring. In truth, she wanted a distraction from her homesickness, and her rage at yet another man’s betrayal.

She finally found herself back in the main hall, and she noted the fire roaring in the grate, and the black and white furred figure lounging on a leather divan, staring intently at the flames in front of her. A pair of heels was on the floor beside her.

Ursula was only half way across the hall when a voice called out. ‘Darling, has no-one ever talked to you about sneaking up on people?’ Cruella sat up and turned her head to look at the Sea Witch, and she noticed the glass clasped in her fellow villain’s gloved hand.

‘Has no-one ever talked to you about the dangers of drinking alone?’ Ursula raised an eyebrow. ‘And my name is Ursula. I’m not a pet of yours. I won’t respond to _darling_.’

‘You’re feisty. Why haven’t we spoken alone before?’ She cocked her head while she spoke, a gesture Ursula considered slightly uncomfortable given the puppy fur currently draping her shoulders. At the Sea Witch’s lack of response, she smirked. ‘Sit, darling, I don’t bite. At least, not this early in the evening.’

She shot a look of clear disdain at the use of the pet name, yet she accepted the offer, sitting down at the end of the chair while Cruella sat up completely, tucking her feet under her until she was practically curled up. She reached down and picked up the bottle of wine on the floor, passing it to Ursula. She accepted the bottle, trying to read the label in the flickering firelight.

‘This is Maleficent’s good wine,’ Ursula said. ‘She was probably saving this for something.’

‘What? Until she actually succeeded at something? She’d be waiting a while. Might as well make sure it doesn’t go to waste now.’ Cruella took another sip out of her glass, and Ursula actually realised how drunk her companion already was. ‘As the imp said, we’re villains. And villains never win.’

‘Please, Rumpelstiltskin only said all of that to get us onside. He didn’t care about helping us. So long as he gets his victory.’ Ursula poured herself the remainder of the wine and took a long sip. ‘We will never get our happy endings. The sooner we accept this, the better.’

‘You’re such a cynic, darling,’ Cruella purred, stretching her legs out again so her toes brushed Ursula’s legs lightly. She smiled wickedly as she felt the other woman flinch slightly against her touch. ‘Uncomfortable? We’re on the same side. We should probably get to know each other.’

‘What? You want to share secrets, and talk about boys? Paint each other’s nails? Swap clothes?’

‘Don’t flatter yourself; your dress sense is rather ghastly. And I dread to think what state your nails are in given how long you spend swimming with fish.’

‘You’re such a charmer, Cruella.’ She shook her head, yet there was an amused smile on her face. She liked this woman. The wicked sparkle in her eyes as she spoke, giving away the joke behind her malice. She gestured for her to pass the next bottle of wine, this one more sophisticated than the last. She poured herself a glass full anyway. ‘Maleficent will be furious when she finds this missing.’

‘That’s what she gets for having no gin in this awful place.’ Cruella took the bottle and topped up her own glass, caring little for the mixing of the two different wines. ‘It’s been years since I last drank wine. Not since my last wedding.’

‘You’re married?’ Ursula raised an eyebrow in disbelief. The last thing she could imagine was the woman before her settling down with anyone, never mind in some traditional marriage. ‘Let me guess, you had your true love and he died, or left you for some hero. Your happy ending consists solely of getting him back and living out some redeemed existence until the end of your days. I’ve got to be at least partially right.’

‘Not a chance, Ursula darling.’ Cruella smirked. ‘You’re not still living under the delusion that _true love_ exists, are you? At your age?’

‘The heroes seem to find it easily enough.’

‘Marriage is just a business transaction. The husband gets a woman he can wear on his arm and, god forbid, have his ghastly children. The wife gets financial stability without having to do any more than open her legs once a month.’ She frowned lightly, staring intently at her glass as she spoke, before looking back up at the Sea Witch. ‘The heroes simply call it true love to make the whole affair sound less sordid.’

‘Now who’s the cynic?’ She joked, but Cruella could hear the slight sound of dejection in her voice.

‘Have I upset you? Were you holding out hope that some hero would come in and sweep you off your feet? Or your tentacles? Hoping some prince would decide he’d love an octopus wife?’

‘I’ve never held men in much regard. Never mind an egotistical prince.’

‘Bad experience? Your teenage crush not invite you to a ball?’

‘Never been interested.’ Ursula shrugged, her eyes meeting Cruella’s. ‘I’ve always appreciated the…prettier things in life.’

Cruella finally seemed to understand what the Sea Witch was saying, and she smirked, a wicked glint in her eyes. ‘It seems you’ll be waiting even longer than Maleficent for your happy ending then. In this realm, it seems to be a man or no-one.’

‘It’s lucky I’m a villain then. I’m already well-used to a life without a happy ending.’

* * *

 

They kept drinking for hours. Every time Ursula thought they’d finished the wine, Cruella somehow managed to find another bottle, each more rare and expensive than the last. _Maleficent is going to kill us_ , the Sea Witch couldn’t stop herself from thinking, yet nor could she bring herself to end the evening and tear herself away from her ally’s company. Cruella wasn’t royalty clearly; she lacked the notions of class and self-restraint that Ursula had been brought up on as King Triton’s daughter. She lacked Maleficent’s refinement and collectiveness also. But there was something equally as enchanting about this chain-smoking, alcoholic socialite, or at least there seemed to be in the Sea Witch’s mind. She was an odd mix of contrasts. Angled, yet draped in soft fur. Elegant in the most inelegant of ways. Seemingly disinterested in everything, but with a glitter in her pale eyes that let you know the exact opposite. She wasn’t knowledgeable, but she was quick-witted. Ursula couldn’t help but smile as she spoke, rambling drunkenly about nothing by this point in the night, lost in her attempts to imagine Cruella as a villain, when she realised Cruella was staring at her, waiting for a response to whatever it was she had just said.

‘Ursula darling, were you listening at all?’ She was noticeably drunk, her words slurred, not that the Sea Witch in her intoxicated state entirely noticed. She shook her head, taking another sip from her glass. ‘I was being awfully nosey as well. I wanted to know when you knew.’

‘When did I know what?’

‘Well, that the last thing you wanted to do was give yourself to a man.’

‘When did you know that you did want to?’ Ursula asked, eyebrow raised questioningly, and Cruella stopped, silent for a few moments.

‘I never knew. I simply knew I wanted to be someone and own things and I needed money to do that. And men are so much easier to manipulate than women. They’ll believe anything you tell them if your clothes are tight enough. Or if you’re not wearing them at all.’

‘Please, I don’t want the inner details of your marriage bed, Cruella.’

‘I’ve flirted with more than enough women. But I’ve never gone any further. I’ve never even kissed a woman, and that’s a tragedy in itself.’ She took another sip from her glass, and then as a thought crossed her mind, she sat up suddenly. A smirk crossed her face. ‘I’ve been watching you all evening, darling. I know you want to.’

‘I don’t know what you mean…’

‘Just because I haven’t had some passionate love affair with a woman before, it doesn’t mean I’m blind. Women are just as easy to read as men. And you made it so obvious.’ She stood up, ignoring her slight unease on her feet, and held out her hand to Ursula.

The Sea Witch was shaking her head, but she still took her companion’s hand and stood up. ‘I’m not so sure this is going to help our work much.’

‘Then we never speak of it again, and forget it ever happened.’ Ursula had stood close, but not close enough. Cruella stepped forward to bridge the distance, putting her free hand on Ursula’s waist, her hand that still held the remainder of her wine behind the Sea Witch’s head. She could feel the Sea Witch’s heartbeat increase through her chest as she pulled her closer until their bodies were pressed together. Yet it was Ursula who moved in first, sick of the anticipation, kissing Cruella firmly on her still smirking lips. It was only moments however before Cruella opened her mouth, letting Ursula kiss her harder and deeper. She felt her arms wrap around her, hands slip underneath her fur to her waist. The sudden touch made Cruella drop the glass of wine in her hand, and it smashed on the stone floor, interrupting the moment.

It was only as they broke away from each other that Ursula truly noted the sway in Cruella’s movements, and her bloodshot eyes. She sighed. ‘Come on, Cru. I’m taking you to bed.’

‘You are forward, darling. You were complaining about a kiss only moments ago.’

‘I’m taking you to bed to sleep, Cru.’ She couldn’t help but be amused as she put her arm around her companion’s waist and led her, carefully through the broken glass on the floor, upstairs to the room Maleficent had gestured at angrily earlier. Guiding the socialite was hard work, despite leaving her heels downstairs, she was still very unstable on her feet, and she alternated between forcefully trying to leave the Sea Witch’s grasp, and leaning in to kiss and nibble at her neck as they walked.

She insisted on undressing before climbing into the four poster bed, and Ursula had to help her remove even the simplest items of her clothing, trying to look anywhere but at her naked body. With persuasion, she managed to get Cruella into the bed eventually, and she turned to leave.

‘Darling, where are you going?’ Ursula stopped, turning back around. All feeling of drunkenness had left her by now. She was tired. Her head hurt. She wanted sleep.

‘Bed.’

‘Why can’t you sleep here?’ Cruella pouted, another look that gave her a puppy-like appearance that Ursula couldn’t help but feel uncomfortable about. ‘Please don’t make me sleep alone tonight.’

Her room was a whole corridor away. And despite being owned by a dragon, Maleficent’s castle wasn’t warm. She couldn’t help but be swayed by the promise of bed, and extra body warmth, even if it would mean dealing with a very hungover Cruella the next morning. And she seemed to be completely weak for the wicked smirk on her ally’s face as she began removing her clothes and climbing into bed beside her.

* * *

 

They were both woken the next morning with a furious banging on the wooden bedroom door, and the sound of muffled shouting. Cruella merely groaned and turned over, it was Ursula who sat up slowly and climbed out of the bed. Unable to face getting fully dressed, she opened the door in merely her underdress, to be met with a raging Maleficent.

‘You drank my best wine. The wine I have been saving for years. Don’t you dare try to wriggle out of this one, Cruella. I swear I will strangle you with one of your own furs…’ She stopped suddenly, finally noticing exactly who had answered the door. ‘This was Cruella’s room?’

‘Darling.’ From the bed, Cruella raised an arm, and Maleficent frowned before smirking wickedly.

‘Well, it seems someone had a fun night while I was gone.’ She seemed to have forgotten her anger in this revelation. ‘I must say, I didn’t quite see this one coming.’

‘Do you want anything, Maleficent?’ Ursula asked tiredly. ‘This isn’t quite how I imagined this morning.’

‘I can bet.’ Another smirk. ‘I’ll leave you both to…it. Just clean my hall when you’re done. I’m not touching anything until I know it’s clean.’

She left them alone, and Ursula closed the door and turned back to the bed. Cruella groaned again as she sat up, any make-up that hadn’t rubbed off onto her pillow smudged across her face. Ursula couldn’t help but chuckle lightly to herself.

‘What did the dragon want?’ She asked, clearly having paid little attention to the conversation at the door.

‘The wine?’ Ursula climbed back into the bed and watched with raised eyebrows as Cruella moved closer to her, resting her head on the Sea Witch’s shoulder.

‘I feel ghastly, darling,’ she moaned, as her companion shook her head and wrapped an arm around her. At the feel of her fingers on her bare skin, Cruella sat upright, suddenly aware of her own nudity. ‘Last night, we didn’t…?’

‘No, we didn’t. As much as you tried.’ Cruella nestled back into Ursula’s shoulder and laughed softly. ‘You insisted you couldn’t sleep dressed. Don’t you remember?’

‘Of course I remember. I just couldn’t remember that. And that’s something I’d definitely want to remember,’ she purred, reaching across and holding the other woman’s hand.

‘Well, you’ve kissed a woman now. Everything you’ve thought it would be?’

‘Much better.’ Cruella smiled, her other hand slipping beneath the covers to run her long fingers down Ursula’s thigh, enjoying the shiver she felt across the woman’s skin. ‘Do you know something else I’ve never done, darling? I’ve never had hungover morning sex.’

‘Why don’t we see if we can fix that?’


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**I'm enjoying writing about SeaDevil in the Enchanted Forest. So I continued. I'll jump back to Storybrooke in the next chapter. Enjoy.**

‘I suppose this makes us allies?’

Maleficent took a long sip of wine from her goblet and cast a long glance at the Sea Witch and the fur-clad socialite sat down the table from her. They’d been in her castle now for just over two weeks; sharing her space, eating her food, drinking all of her good alcohol (although, admittedly, that was mainly Cruella). They had even, however embarrassing it was for the dragon to admit, fallen into a routine of some sort. They would breakfast together late-morning, Maleficent taking care not to interrupt her fellow villains, whose night together it seemed had not been a one-off. Ursula took the days to dip her tentacles in the sea a mile or so away. Maleficent to spread her wings. She had no idea what Cruella used the days for, but she could only assume drinking given the state of her most times they arrived back at the castle. The evenings were spent dining together, and in conversation that often lasted until the early hours. It was an odd relationship. One that none of the women had yet mentioned as existing.

‘I’d be lying if I said I was still here for the good of my health, darling,’ Cruella drawled, waving a lit cigarette in her hand, leaving a trail of green smoke. ‘As far as we stand, we’re still here for our happy endings.’

Maleficent raised an eyebrow, sitting back in her chair at the head of the banqueting table they were sat at. ‘I never promised you those.’

‘No, but we were summoned to your home. And we’re staying here until we get them.’ Ursula smiled slyly, exchanging a glance with Cruella.

‘Well, I’m glad you were summoned here then. If we’d had to spend this long in your murky sea-cave, Ursula, we’d have drowned.’ The Sea Witch scowled as her two fellow villains laughed. She grimaced as the dragon cut a piece off of the fish on the plate nearest to her, and ate it with a feigned innocent look at Ursula. ‘Do you still get squeamish about me eating your playmates, dear?’

‘Once you’ve lived with them, you recognise they deserve more than to be stuck on a platter for you.’ She rolled her eyes, her tentacles twitching as she watched Maleficent take another bite of seafood. ‘You mentioned being allies?’

‘If you two are going to continue staying here, we might as well get a plan sorted.’

‘We never thought you’d ask, darling.’ Cruella rested her chin on a gloved hand elegantly. ‘You see, me and Ursula have given this some very careful thought. While it may have been the imp who gathered us all here with his ghastly lies, there’s no reason for us not to unite.’

‘The heroes win because they can rely on each other when they need it. We lose because we’re on our own. But we can change that,’ Ursula interjected, watching as Maleficent took another long drink, but with a thoughtful glint in her eyes. ‘Whether Rumple was telling the truth about being able to get our happy endings or not is irrelevant, we’ll be stronger together even if just fighting individual battles.’

‘They’ll never see it coming,’ the socialite purred, as she pulled her furs tighter around her. ‘Not even the Dark One.’

‘An alliance of three of the Enchanted Forest’s greatest villains.’ Maleficent smiled slightly as she contemplated it fully. ‘The heroes could never win…’

‘That is, of course, if you _were_ three of the Enchanted Forest’s greatest villains.’  The three women at the table stood up in alarm as the double doors to the Great Hall burst open, and the Evil Queen entered, her purple coat flying behind her. She stopped as she took in the sight before her and smirked wickedly. ‘The Sea Bitch and Cruella de Vil. This is the company you’re reduced to when I’m not here, Maleficent?’

‘You know, I’d wondered why I’ve never heard anything about the Evil Queen’s charm. Turns out it’s because she doesn’t have any.’ Ursula watched with narrowed eyes as Regina took a seat at the end of the table, opposite Maleficent.

‘Just how long can you survive out of water, Ursula, before your tentacles shrivel up? Because I’m certainly willing to wait that long.’

‘You might be Queen of some kingdom by screwing your way to the throne, but you have no dominion over us. Don’t think for one second that being the Evil Queen makes you any better than we are.’ Cruella stormed furiously to where Regina was sitting, and leant over her threateningly, her voice almost shrill with anger. Ursula couldn’t help but feel slightly warmed at Cruella’s overprotective reaction. Regina, however, just raised an eyebrow.

‘No, what makes me better is that I actually am a villain. I have power. What do you have? Some cheap jewellery and a fur kink.’ Regina stood up also, a sneer across her face that was mere inches from Cruella’s. ‘I have more in my little finger than both you and the octopus have combined. So I wouldn’t try threatening me, unless you wish to experience exactly what the skinning process feels like…

‘And if I were either of you, I’d take a seat, unless you wish to see what dragon-fire feels like,’ Maleficent interrupted, and Regina took a seat, a smirk still on her face. Cruella stood for a moment or so longer before also resuming her seat, a sulking pout on her face that eased a little as she caught Ursula’s gaze. ‘This is unexpected, Regina.’

‘I thought we could have a catch-up, Mal, like old times. I didn’t realise you’d have company.’ Regina created a glass of wine out of a flash of purple smoke. She took a long drink, her eyes firmly directed at Maleficent. ‘Least of all the Sea Witch and her guard dog.’

‘You really ought to learn some respect, Regina. I’ve already threatened you once. I won’t do it twice,’ Ursula snapped.

‘Respect you two?’ Regina laughed. ‘I’ve heard there’s a Wicked Witch in some distant land, why don’t you invite her to join you? It seems you’ll let in anyone. Apparently just wearing puppies is enough to warrant villainy nowadays.’

‘I’m not staying down here to put up with this. I have better things I could be doing than pretending I care about whatever the so-called Evil Queen has to say.’ Cruella stood up, one hand pulling her furs higher around her shoulders, the other picking up her glass from the table. She circled the table, stopping just behind Ursula’s chair. ‘Are you coming, darling?’

She stood up, frowning at Regina who was now cackling wickedly at the women in front of her. ‘Now, I definitely didn’t see this coming. Is it _true love_? Are you each other’s _happy endings_?’

‘We’ll see you in the morning, Mal.’ Ursula rolled her eyes, desperately trying to ignore the Evil Queen’s mocking tone.

‘Be wary of the tentacles, my dear, the last thing we want is some fish-puppy hybrid wandering around,’ she called as the two villains left the Great Hall, leaving just Regina and Maleficent sat opposite each other at the table.

They both sat in silence for a few minutes, the only sounds being the noise of their glasses being lifted to their lips and then placed back on the wooden surface. Once the doors had fully closed again, and Maleficent was sure they were fully alone, she frowned.

‘You should be nicer to Ursula and Cruella. You may not value them, but they’re villains just like us.’

‘Tell me you haven’t gone soft, dear.’

‘They saved my life.’

‘ _They_ saved your life?’ Regina scoffed. ‘The Fish Queen and the bitch saved _your_ life? I mean, even it were true, it would hardly qualify them for your undying loyalty.’

‘We’re allies, Regina. Even friends. And you know all too well that if there’s one thing villains need, it’s friends.’

‘You really have gone soft, Mal.’ Regina stood, and walked slowly down the table, running her fingers along the backs of the wooden chairs as she passed. ‘Quite how those two will ever help you is beyond me. Though if that’s who you want to put your trust in…’

‘I trusted you when the most you could do was throw a measly fireball. And look at us now.’ She looked up at the Evil Queen, who was now stood above her, before taking the seat beside the dragon.

‘And I still had more ability than both of those two put together.’ Regina smirked, reaching out a hand to hold Maleficent’s, rubbing her thumb lightly on Maleficent’s skin. ‘But, of course, I didn’t come all this way to discuss your new friends.’

‘Mock my new friends, I think you mean? Ridicule them? Think of yourself as better than them?’ She took back her hand, placing it in her lap out of the Queen’s reach. ‘I’d have thought you of all people would have learnt by now to value any friends you can get. I’ve already mentioned your… _humble_ beginnings after all. And you should not have brought their relationship, or whatever it is, into question. Especially seeing as why you’re here.’

The smirk had gone from Regina’s face by this point, replaced by a confused frown. ‘Am I right in thinking that you actually care for these women, Maleficent? The great sorceress has fallen so fall she’ll settle for the friendship of the Sea Witch and a puppy thief?’

‘Do you think you’re the only villain in this land, Regina? Need I remind you that you’ve been trying and failing to rid yourself of Snow White since she was a mere child? And yet you still hold yourself higher than Cruella and Ursula?’

‘You watch your tongue, dragon. Or I’ll have my guards cut it out.’

‘Only your guards? I’m disappointed.’ Maleficent’s lips curled cruelly as she Regina scowled darkly.

‘I came here as a friend.’

‘No, you came here as you’ve yet to find anyone better than me in bed. That doesn’t quite equal allegiance.’

Regina stood; her voice icy when she spoke. ‘You would choose them over me?  Their friendship over mine?’

‘Yes, I would. And I will continue to until you learn the value of others, something you seem to have forgotten sitting on your own in that fortress of yours. But you aren’t a popular queen, Regina, so if I were you, I’d learn fast.’ Maleficent stood also, and with a wave of her hand, the Great Hall doors flew open. ‘Now leave.’

She opened her mouth as if to speak, but settled for merely sneering at her fellow villain. With a dramatic turn, she strutted out of the Hall, her heels clipping loudly on the floor as if she wished to convey her fury through her walk. At the last moment though, the Queen decided that was not enough and with a flick of the wrist, sent a fireball flying at one of the chairs at the table. Once she was long out of sight, and her steps a mere echo in the castle, Maleficent sat back down, putting out the burning chair with a sigh. She reached out for her goblet, taking a long, much-needed drink.

‘I must thank you, darling. I didn’t expect it from you.’

The dragon looked up for her glass, to see her two new allies stood in the doorway. They approached her, coy smiles on both of their faces. ‘I thought you had both left.’

‘And miss all the fun? You didn’t believe that, surely?’ Ursula took the seat that the Regina had just left, helping herself to the remains of the Queen’s glass. ‘We weren’t quite sure you had it in you.’

‘Dragons are easy to piss off. And you don’t get away with it so easily when you do.’ She sat back in her chair. ‘So, I presume you were eavesdropping that entire conversation. Hear anything you liked?’

‘We heard many things we liked. And some things we hadn’t quite expected.’

‘There was us just thinking you and Regina were old friends, Mal.’

‘That one took us quite by surprise, darling.’

She shrugged, a small smirk on her face as she did so. ‘You thought you were the only villains to fall into bed together for whatever reason. Everyone knows a bad girl does it so much better than some hero.’

‘And how about two bad girls?’ Ursula asked suggestively, as she ran a finger around the rim of her glass. ‘After all, we know why Regina showed up tonight. And we wouldn’t want you to miss out on our behalf.’

‘And don’t try and pretend you haven’t thought about it. You’d have to be blind not to notice your jealous looks in the evenings,’ Cruella purred lowly, and Maleficent felt a slight shiver run down her spine. She sat silently in contemplation for a moment or so, before picking up her glass and drinking the remnants of the blood red liquid inside. She then leant over and kissed the fur-clad witch sat beside her. While Cruella had been expecting it, she hadn’t quite expected the immediately passionate kiss that the dragon seemed to enjoy. Ursula watched for a minute or two, before standing up and walking around the table, breaking their kiss to take Maleficent’s hand and pull her up to kiss her also.

 _If Regina could see them now_.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

‘Rumpelstiltskin, what have you done with Cruella and Ursula?’

The Dark One turned from the table he was stood at as Maleficent burst into the cabin. Her blonde hair, usually so neat, was dishevelled, half of it having fallen out of the style she had so carefully sculpted the night before. She’d lost her hat. Her tie was hanging out of her skirt, and her jacket was thrown carelessly over her arm. He couldn’t help but smirk at her, only to be met with a fierce scowl.

‘Good morning to you too, Maleficent. I’ve done nothing with them. It turns out when you threaten a woman out of her own diner, steal her liquor and then torch the place, she’s a lot less likely to let you stay in her bed and breakfast.’ He raised an eyebrow as the Dragon frowned angrily. ‘She threw your associates out this morning, they showed up here looking about as good as you do right now.’

‘I do not need that from you right now.’ She was about to sit down when Rumple held something out to her. She approached cautiously, taking the silver packet in his hand hesitantly.

‘You don’t need to look so wary, it’s not poison.’

‘Not this time?’

A small smile crossed his face at that. ‘Not this time, no. It’ll help with your headache. It’s aspirin. Just think of it as…the closest this World has to magic. Our allies have already helped themselves, Cruella took about five, I think. But, I’d just stick to two if I were you.’

That was enough to convince her. She swallowed a couple, grimacing at the bitter taste on her tongue. Maleficent then finally let herself sit down, appreciating the cushioned feel against her body that had spent most of the morning on Regina’s crypt floor. She closed her eyes for a few moments, opening them again only when she became aware of Rumple’s eyes boring into her.

‘Can I assume plans are still on track?’ He asked, taking the seat opposite her, ignoring her obviously painful hangover in his questioning.

‘Of course. Tonight will still be going ahead.’

‘And Regina?’

‘Regina is sorted.’ At the memory of the night before, she couldn’t help but smirk. _Magic wasn’t the only thing Regina was good at_. ‘She’s entirely on side.’

‘Are you certain? I will not our plans ruined because you let yourself be blindsided by the Evil Queen again.’

‘I’m completely certain. She’s good, but she’s not that good.’

‘If she betrays us, Maleficent, it will be on your head. Don’t start thinking you’re irreplaceable in this plan. There are a whole number of villains who would be more than willing to help me to get their happy endings.’

‘If that was a threat, it was as pathetic as you are right now, Rumpelstiltskin. You know you need me, or you wouldn’t have gone through so much effort to bring me back.’ She stood up, clearly having lost interest in the man sat before her. ‘You needn’t disturb the octopus and her guard dog, I won’t need them tonight. I’ll take Regina.’

‘Maleficent…’

‘Oh, you needn’t worry.’ She reached the door and turned around, her red lips curled. ‘Her Majesty has never been able to resist the Dragon.’

* * *

 

‘I’m getting too old to be doing this on a hangover,’ Ursula moaned, as her lover sat straddled naked on her hips, panting lightly still from her recent climax. After a moment or so, she smiled wickedly and lay down next to the Sea Witch. Ursula couldn’t help but roll her eyes as Cruella sat up and  reached over to the bedside table for a cigarette. ‘Do you have to, Cru? They stink.’

‘And you smell permanently of fish, so we’re about even there.’ She raised an eyebrow as if to challenge the Sea Witch to stop her. When she didn’t move, Cruella lit it anyway.

‘I’m not the only one smelling of fish right now,’ Ursula scoffed and watched as Cruella practically choked on green smoke in her shock.

‘So crude, darling,’ she said it disapprovingly, but the glitter in her pale eyes as she looked down at her fellow villain gave away her amusement. ‘Where were you this morning? I woke up and you weren’t here. I was worried you’d decided to have that night with Mal, anyway.’

‘She has Regina back; notice even that we’re not helping kidnap that puppet later.’

‘In Mal’s defence, kidnap has never been our strongest suit. You do tend to get rather a bit excited with your tentacles, usually.’

‘That is if you don’t have a gun pointed in their face.’ Ursula sat up slowly, and reached for the glass of water on her own bedside table. ‘And no, I couldn’t sleep here after that hag threw us out this morning so I took a walk. Thought it might clear my head. It’s nicer around here than it is in the town, less heroes around to glare at you. Less chance of running into that slimy pirate. More thinking space.’

‘That all sounds absolutely ghastly. I’m presuming I’ll be ruining all of my heels in these woods?’

‘Not as _absolutely ghastly_ as all those hookers your ex-husband slept with,’ she said quietly, feigning innocence, and she took a long sip of water, aware of Cruella staring at her.

‘You’ve been waiting to say that, haven’t you? I should not have told you. I hadn’t told anyone that.’ Her face was a combination of embarrassment and anger, with the sad glint of betrayal that passed quickly through her eyes. She regained herself though. ‘And he’s still my husband, darling. I think I’ve missed my chance at divorce. Just got to hope prison kills him now.’

‘I’m surprised you didn’t do that yourself. If not on purpose, then just by your dreadful cooking.’ She shrugged, before softening slightly. ‘Besides, I’m not judging anyone but him in this situation.’

‘Well, I’d rather this didn’t get back to anyone else…’

‘Oh, because you don’t want to ruin the illusion of your perfect marriage? I’m pretty sure you don’t need to concern yourself with that, really.’  

‘Urs…’

‘You secret’s safe with me, Cru. We can add it to the list of things we’re already keeping from our associates.’

‘Do you think she guessed?’ Cruella stubbed out her cigarette on the bedside table, and lay back down. She rolled over to nestle into the Sea Witch, who reluctantly lifted an arm to wrap around her.

‘Who?’

‘Mal, of course, darling. Do you think she realised we were lying about her little brat?’

‘Do I think Maleficent, our friend and ally, realised that we didn’t in fact lose her daughter, but actually left her to die in some woods somewhere in America because we couldn’t be bothered to raise her?’ Ursula asked, to be met with an unimpressed look from her lover. ‘No. I don’t. I somehow doubt we’d still be alive if she had guessed.’

‘Oh, thank goodness. We just have to keep it up now, darling.’

‘Unless Rumple tells her. Or the Author.’ Ursula paused for a second, building herself up for what she needed to say. ‘Speaking of the Author, Cru, why have you lied to me?’

She felt Cruella stiffen against her. The socialite sat up quickly, pretend confusion on her face. Any doubts Ursula had were gone. ‘I’m sorry, what?’

‘Don’t insult me. You’ve been lying to me about your happy ending.’

Cruella could feel her heart thumping in her chest, echoing in her ears. _She’d been so sure no-one would find out_. ‘Darling…’

‘Don’t “darling” me, Cruella. Not now.’ The Sea Witch could feel herself become only more irritated at every attempt by the other woman to avoid answering her questions, and she could feel her voice getting louder. ‘I told you all about my happy ending when we were in the Enchanted Forest. You always kept yours from me. Then, when we were banished here, when you left me, you said it was wealth. You wanted diamonds, and furs, and cars. You said you wanted everything you never got as a child, or some shit. And I accepted that. More than that, it was what got me through being on my own. I thought, if you could find your happy ending in this realm, then maybe mine wouldn’t be denied to me too.’ Flashbacks of New York threatened to flood her mind, and the tears she knew would accompany them. Ursula blinked them back, but she couldn’t stop her anger. ‘And then last night, I heard Regina ask you about your ending. And you told her you wanted reconciliation with your mother? Did you happy ending change while in this World? Was wealth not everything you thought it would be? Or did you just think you could lie to me?’

Cruella felt her heart rate slow down as Ursula spoke. She clearly knew nothing about the Author, or about her past. She’d have almost breathed a sigh of relief, if the look on Ursula’s face, the look of betrayal and broken trust, hadn’t made her feel like choking. ‘Darling, there’s a perfectly simple explanation for this, see…’ She’d have lied again, had it been to anyone but her. ‘I’ve been lying to you both.’

‘What?’

‘If you want me to be honest, I’ll be honest with you; you don’t need to look so flabbergasted. You couldn’t possibly believe I’d ever want a reunion with mother, surely? And wealth is wonderful, but the road to it hasn’t never quite been to my liking.’ As she spoke, she lit another cigarette and climbed off the bed to fetch her fur. She wrapped her coat around her naked body, stroking it absentmindedly with her spare hand. ‘No, darling, see like you, I had something taken from me. Something very important. And I want it back.’

‘Why lie about that?’

‘I can’t have anyone find out. Not Mal, certainly not the imp.’

‘Well, don’t hold back on me, now, Cru. What is it?’

‘It was the Author. The Author made me who I am today, fur coat and all.’ She sat back down on the bed, a half-smile on her face in memory. ‘You say I’ve never told you anything, darling? Let me tell you now, then. I met the Author when I was a girl. I lived in an entirely different realm then, we didn’t have magic, or heroes. And I was almost ordinary. I read books, I loved dancing. The music was wonderful there. I was blonde and young, practically dainty.’ She had her eyes closed as she spoke, as if she was imagining herself back there, the jazz playing softly in her head. ‘Mother never really understood me. She had me locked in the attic most days. When I was allowed out, she had her dogs follow me, just to remind me I wasn’t quite free. And then the Author showed up. He got me out, took me dancing, introduced me truly to life. You know, I hadn’t even had gin until I met him. He told me he’d help me escape mother. Even gave me magic so I wouldn’t have to fear the dogs.’ Her voice suddenly turned cold, her eyes open. ‘And then he found out the truth, and he took the only thing I really loved.’

‘What?’ Ursula was sat forward, unable to take her eyes off of her fur-clad lover. ‘What truth? You said you were pretty much ordinary?’

‘Oh, I was far from ordinary. I thought I was, when I was a child. But my parents were always concerned. I saw them from the corner of my eye some nights, staring at me like a dog they couldn’t train, a beast that needed putting out of its misery. I hated it. I hated them.’ She broke out into a smile. ‘So I killed my father.’

‘Cru?’

She looked over at Ursula, a look of pure joy on her face. ‘Oh, and it was wonderful, darling. I finally felt I had found myself. Who I really was. The power that I had, the control I could have on other people. It was truly marvellous. Mother realised, of course, that his death had not just been a heart attack. She tried to keep me from everyone. It didn’t stop me though. I knew I’d found something that I loved, and I was not prepared to give that up. I killed both my step-fathers too. And then when the Author got me out of the house, I knew that was my chance to really pursue what I loved. But mother warned him.’ The smile had gone from her face now, her eyes dark. ‘Mother told him everything, and he thought it was his duty to stop me. He took what I loved, just as Hook took what you loved.’

‘Hook took the only thing I had left of my mother.’ Ursula frowned, her head still trying to understand entirely everything her companion had just confessed. ‘And the Author took, what? Your ability to kill people? Are you going to try and pretend that mattered to you because of your mother now?’

‘Good Lord, no, darling. Though I must admit the memory of her face when I had her own dogs turn on her is one that I have truly cherished.’

‘Maleficent lost her daughter. Rumple lost his beloved maid-servant. I lost my voice. These are happy endings. You lost murder, and want me to think that’s anywhere near the same league?’ She wasn’t quite sure where the aggression in her voice was coming from. Maybe it was shock. Or fear. _She’d never known this Cruella before_.

‘Oh please, darling, don’t pretend you’re a hero. You’re a villain, you’ve shed far more blood than I ever have.’

‘I didn’t enjoy it.’ The Sea-Witch moved away from her lover, standing up on the opposite side of the bed.

‘I can’t pretend I don’t.’ Cruella followed suit, standing up, pulling her furs tighter around her so only her bare legs were visible. ‘Some of us are born innocents, and made into monsters. And some of us feel the pull of darkness from birth. So I gave in. I accepted it. And I _enjoyed_ it. I had fun. So I want that back? That can’t surely bother you?’ Ursula didn’t respond, merely looking blankly at the other woman, unable to decide on anything to say that would truly express what she felt. She turned around instead, sitting back on the bed as she began to redress herself. Cruella’s eyes widened as she watched the Sea Witch turn her back on her, and she felt a rising panic. ‘Darling, I don’t understand why you’re so angry. Or upset. Or whatever it is you’re feeling. You asked for the truth. I gave you it. And you know how it feels to have something taken from you. To be unable to do something. It’s like being trapped. Like wearing a leash. It’s ghastly. Can you honestly blame me for wanting it off? For wanting to be free again? Speak to me, darling, you can’t be truly angry, surely? We’re villains, after all?’

‘I know how it feels to lose something that I love. Truly love. To have it stolen from you by a bastard so desperate for petty revenge he’ll hurt anyone in his way. That’s what I know.’ She was redressed now, her voice and eyes cold as she turned around to look at Cruella. ‘But don’t you dare think that you can ever understand that. We are not the same here. I lost the only thing I had left of my mother. You  ordered dogs to rip your mother into pieces. How can we ever be the same?’

‘Ursula darling…’ She walked around the bed to meet her, but the Sea Witch stepped away, grabbing her jacket from the chair where she’d thrown it that morning.

‘Tell Mal if she comes back that I’ll be here when she needs me.’ She turned and headed for the door, pulling the leather coat around her tightly as if it offered some sort of protection.

‘Urs. Please. Don’t.’

The pleading in Cruella’s voice made her turn around momentarily, meeting her tear filled eyes with an icy stare, and she slammed the door behind her.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**Sorry for how long this update has taken. I hope it was worth the wait.**

The rain in New York was like nothing Ursula had ever known. It fell heavily, and often, with a cold wind as an accompaniment just to ensure that you could not escape the heavy water droplets with a hood, or an umbrella. But she didn’t mind it so much. The feeling of the rain on her head, the cool wetness on her face, was as close as she had come to the ocean in months. The closest she’d come to her home since she’d been banished to this god-forsaken World, where magic was reserved for charlatans in cheap theatres, and villains only existed in children’s books. But she had a job, at least, however little it paid. And through the sale of her jewellery, she’d managed to secure an apartment, however cramped and dirty. And she had Cruella still, which she felt sometimes was all that stopped her going crazy.

Finally home, or the closest she’d ever have in this new realm, she turned her key in the lock, and gave her apartment door the shove it needed to force it open. In the small space, she could smell the mix of rainwater and fish on her clothing, and even she wrinkled her nose slightly. The Sea Witch couldn’t help but pity the neighbours, and her fellow villain, of course. ‘Cru, I’m home. They let me finish early, something about a training afternoon for supervisors…’

‘You’re not supposed to be back yet.’ Cruella came out of the bedroom, her hands busy fixing a heavily jewelled earring into her ear, her face a mixture of shock and sadness.

‘I know. I just explained it.’ An element of confusion was creeping into Ursula’s voice as she stared at her lover, taking in the heavy make-up and jewellery, the dress she was certain she had not seen before, the furs wrapped around her shoulders. ‘Are you going out, Cru?’

‘If I’d have known you’d be back, darling, I swear I wouldn’t have done it today.’

‘Done what?’ Ursula dropped her coat and bag on the floor as she stepped further into the apartment, which is when she saw the table. Usually covered in letters and unopened bills, it had been cleared and instead it held a small aquarium, complete with multiple tropical fish, and a card with her name scrawled on in Cruella’s distinct writing. ‘Cruella, what is this?’

‘I was assured by the woman in the shop it was one of the best on the market. Though she did warn me the fish may eat each other, so you may have to keep an eye on them, darling.’ She was speaking fast as she watched the Sea Witch cross the room and pick the card up. ‘I couldn’t decide whether to get you flowers, but I thought you probably didn’t get chance to develop an appreciation for them under the sea. There is wine in the fridge, both white and rose, I couldn’t remember which you preferred…’

‘You’re leaving me?’ She’d barely opened the card when the words had leapt out at her. It seemed like the rest of the writing was fuzzy, but the only words it seemed that mattered were the clearest she’d ever read. ‘You’re leaving me, Cru.’

‘Don’t sound so surprised, you know this is hardly the life I want.’ Ursula looked up, her eyes fiery in rage, as Cruella spoke, but she seemed to miss it. Or maybe it was deliberate, her desperate attempts to mask her true feelings in exasperation and false ecstasy. She crossed the room to her lover, a wide smile on her ruby lips, her hand outstretched to show the large diamond ring on her fourth finger. ‘I’m getting married, Ursula darling, isn’t it wonderful?’

‘You’re getting married?’ She wanted to speak, but her mind was so clouded and her throat so choked, all she could do was repeat after her companion. She eventually stammered out,  ‘who? To who?’

‘Oh, no-one you’d know. Just one of the company owners, Feinberg. He brought us that bottle of wine at that ghastly work party I took you to.’

‘Feinberg?’

‘Yes, darling. He happened to pass through the office once, we got talking. He took me out a few times.  And then his wife died. A ghastly affair. But it didn’t take him long to realise that women like her are so easily replaceable.’ She held her hand up as she spoke to admire the ring herself, aware of the lack of attention the Sea Witch was paying. ‘But isn’t it just marvellous? You know, I haven’t worn anything this grand since the Enchanted Forest, I’d almost forgotten how much I loved the feeling.’

‘Are you serious?’ She couldn’t stop herself from shouting, the sudden demonstration of emotion enough to shock Cruella into dropping her hand and staring at her companion, pale eyes wide. ‘You’ve just told me you’re abandoning me in this World with no idea where the fuck I am to go and get married to a man whose poxy secretary you’ve been working as, and you want to discuss jewellery? Please tell me you’re fucking kidding me, Cruella. Tell me this is one of your sick jokes and all you’ve really done is gotten yourself fired, or gotten us evicted…’

‘I hardly expected you to react like this, Urs. You’re supposed to be, if not happy for me, at least accepting. You know this isn’t the life for me.’

‘It’s hardly the life for me, either. I used to rule an ocean. Working in some crap 9 to 5 job for almost nothing isn’t my ideal life either. But we can work ourselves out of this. We have each other. And we’ve barely started even looking for a way back home. This doesn’t need to be forever.’ Hot tears were slipping down her cheeks now, dampening the skin that had only just dried from the rain.

‘You expect me to live of false hope and empty dreams and be happy with that? You expect me to be content with this pitiful existence because one day we _could_ get back to the Enchanted Forest? You can fool yourself, but don’t expect me to follow you.’

‘So we never get home? So maybe we have to accept that. It’s bullshit, but we accept it. We still have each other. We don’t need to be alone.’

‘And maybe, darling, that’s the difference between us. You can live in this ghastly apartment, making barely enough to afford whatever that vile food is they sell down the street, working in that puny pet store or wherever it is you work…’

‘It’s an aquarium.’

‘Aquarium, fine. Maybe that’s all you need. But that is certainly not enough for me. I need jewels, and furs, and clothes I don’t have to buy second hand if I want to eat that same week. I need gin, and cigarettes to numb the painful fact that I’m trapped in a realm without magic from which there is no chance of escaping from, and I’m back to the pathetic ordinary life I had when I was a mere child,’ she snapped, her eyes a blaze, her lips almost curled into a snarl at the mention of her childhood. ‘Your happy ending is gone, Ursula, and you can fool yourself with false hope for the rest of your life if you want, but I certainly do not intend to do the same. I still have a chance to get mine. I can have everything I want, and you can be damn sure I’d be lying if I said I’d let any notions of _love_ stop me from doing so.’

‘You want furs and gin so badly. Fine. Go. I hope you choke on the gin, and get strangled in your sleep,’ Ursula said lowly, her words venomous, tears no longer falling. Instead all she could feel was rage. Pure, unadulterated rage that seemed to pound in her chest.

‘And I hope your beloved aquarium is everything you could ever want, darling. Maybe one day, they might actually pay you a legal wage.’ Cruella came back out of the bedroom where she’d stepped momentarily to retrieve her bags. ‘I probably ought to leave you now. My _dear_ fiancé is waiting for me.’

‘Don’t you dare think about coming back, Cruella. I swear, if I ever see you again…’

‘Once I leave this apartment, I shall be Cruella Feinberg. I’ll have money, and jewels, and clothes. I’ll live in a house with a man who can cater to my every whim, rather than some washed-up Sea Bitch who leaves the bed smelling of fish.’ She smirked cruelly as she spoke, but every word seemed to leave a bitter taste in her mouth. ‘Why on Earth would I ever come back here?’

She slammed the apartment door when she left, and Ursula felt herself collapse into a heap on the cold floor, sobbing uncontrollably. She could smell Cruella’s perfume long after she’d gone.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**This is just a short chapter. I just wanted a look at Cruella post 'Poor Unfortunate Souls'. And I quite like writing Maleficent.**

Maleficent closed her eyes and counted slowly to ten silently, bracing herself for whatever she was to find through the door before her. A small part of her missed the days of being trapped in a cavern in her dragon form. True, it was boring and lonely, but it was a lot easier than the mess she encountered everywhere in Storybrooke. Having dawdled long enough, she readjusted her skirt, took a deep breath, and entered.

‘Cruella, I can hear your whining from down the hallway. Need I remind you that it’s midnight, and some of us want to sleep?’ She asked curtly, attempting to keep her voice neutral as she looked down at her companion sat at the mirror. ‘Or, if you wish to continue, could you please go elsewhere?’

It had been three days since Ursula had left. Three days since the heroes had reunited the Sea Witch with her beloved voice and her estranged father. For three days, Maleficent had been dealing with the wreck that Ursula had left behind. Cruella was reasonable in the day, she smelt more strongly of gin perhaps, and her bloodlust had increased, but it was the nights that were the worst. She cried almost endlessly, the only silence was her downing a bottle or two of whatever liquor she could get her hands on. Even now, standing in her room, Maleficent wrinkled her nose at the overwhelming stench of alcohol and old perfume. Not that Cruella seemed to notice the Dragon’s disgust; she was too busy sobbing still, make-up smeared down her face, though whether through her tears or a half-hearted attempt at removing it, Maleficent could not be sure.

‘I never thought she’d do it, darling. I know she missed it, but she spent thirty years working in some ghastly aquarium and never left, I never thought she’d leave now.’ Cruella hadn’t seemed to hear her ally’s complaints, merely noticing her presence. ‘This is my punishment, isn’t it? I left her all those years ago, so she leaves me now. That’s it, isn’t it? Her revenge? My _just desserts_ as that awful story book would say.’  She turned to look at Maleficent, her pale eyes full of tears. ‘She didn’t even say goodbye.’

‘I don’t even know what an aquarium is.’ Maleficent sighed, and stepped carefully further into the room, avoiding the broken glass on the floor from the bottles that had been thrown at the wall in heartbroken rage. She stood beside her friend, grimacing slightly at the number of used tissues that littered the vanity table. ‘If you’re expecting me to sympathise with you, you’ll be disappointed. We all lose people, Cruella; you’re hardly the first to suffer.’

‘But this was my fault. I lost her. We had found each other after so long. I thought it would work this time.’

‘This was not your fault. Or your punishment, or whatever you want to call it in your state. We’re villains, which means the only people we have to blame are the heroes. That’s why we need to find the Author. Something you’re currently not helping with.’

‘But Mal, darling,’ she said softly, her crying having stopped as she looked up with large eyes. _Almost vulnerable_. Maleficent had to stop herself from laughing at the sight. ‘What use is the Author to me now? I thought I knew what I wanted, but it was all wrong. My happy ending just left me.’

‘Then find yourself a new one. Or, better yet, use your imagination and find a way you can have Ursula without her losing her newly found happiness. I don’t really care.’

‘Mal…’

‘Don’t _Mal_ me, Cruella. I’ve had to lie awake the past two nights listening to both you and Rumple snivelling into your pillow cases. Any sympathy I had died with my chance of a decent night’s sleep. Ursula has gone. She took her voice, and her daddy’s hand, and went home. Either forget her and move on, or get angry and swear revenge. I don’t care which. But make yourself useful. Or I swear I will have you as supper and use your furs as napkins. Do I make myself clear?’ She bent down to snarl threateningly at Cruella, who had started whimpering quietly, before the Dragon straightened up and began to walk back out of the room.

‘Wait, darling.’ Cruella stood up, small without her big furs and heavy make-up. Maleficent stopped, and turned back around with a sigh. ‘I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to be. I’ve lost…’

‘And I’ve lost my child. And Rumple’s lost his little maid. We’re villains. We move on.’

‘Why not just complain to the imp then, darling? If he’s also snivelling into his pillow case, as you so charmingly put it.’ The tears had definitely stopped by this point, she was getting angrier. Even with her bare arms and face, she’d regained some of her threat. ‘Or is the Dark One too much for you?’

‘At least the Dark One is proving his worth.  He knows what he’s doing. Unlike you. Maybe when you start actually doing something, rather than crying like a child, I’ll leave you alone too.’

‘Well you’d very much like that, wouldn’t you?’

‘Yes, I would. Maybe then, this would feel like a partnership, rather than babysitting.’

‘Fuck you, Mal.’ The socialite turned back to the mirror and sat down, in a gesture that was intended to be a dismissal. Maleficent did turn back to the door, but rather than open it, she locked it and turned back to her fellow villain.

 ‘Fine.’ She took off her jacket, and flung it onto the bed, before ginning to remove her tie. ‘If you insist.’

Cruella looked up to notice the Dragon’s reflection, and turned around with wide eyes. ‘Darling, what are you doing?’

‘Well, it seems I have one of two options for the night seeing as you are refusing to listen to anything I have to say. I can either lie awake and listen to you crying over your beloved Sea Witch, or I can distract you and hope that it’s enough for you to actually let me sleep. So I’m going to fuck you.’ She raised an eyebrow when she spoke; something she knew from experience would soften Cruella. ‘Take off your clothes.’

‘Mal, darling…’

‘Before you even start accusing me of pitying you, I’ll remind you that I spent the last twenty-eight years as a dragon, and the last two as a pile of dust. One night with a very drunken Regina is not enough to counteract that. This is as much for me as it is for you. Now, stand up, and come here.’ The command in her voice was enough to shock Cruella into standing and approaching her companion. ‘Now, I know Ursula was very gentle. Good, passionate, but gentle. Don’t expect that from me. I’m going to be rough. And I want rough back.’

‘Now you’re talking.’ She’d lost all of her previous sense of hopelessness. Her eyes were dark with desire, her pulse quickened.

‘Tomorrow will hurt. And I’d advise nothing too revealing unless you want to give tonight away.’ Maleficent was beginning to trail her fingers lightly up Cruella’s side, enjoying the shiver beneath her touch.

‘I’m hardly a novice here, darling.’

‘Good.’ Maleficent smirked. ‘Then, take off your clothes, and get on the bed.’


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter** **9**

_**Sorry for the delay in this chapter. I hope it's a satisfying ending for you all. Thank you for reading :)** _

Isaac turned his head slowly at the sound of approaching footsteps. A cold wind blew but he resisted shivering lest it gave him the appearance of fear. He didn’t fear the woman holding the trumpet flowers in her hand as she walked towards him. He knew exactly who she was.

‘I didn’t expect to see you here, Ursula,’ he commented as she knelt down beside him and lay the flowers on Cruella’s grave, lingering a moment before standing up and looking at him quizzically.

‘Her ex-husband’s in prison, meaning you can’t be him. So I assume you’re the Author?’ she asked, an eyebrow arched.

‘You know who I am?’

‘Cruella told me about you. What you did to her.’

‘You can’t say you disagree with me about that, surely?’ Isaac frowned. ‘In all honesty, I was very surprised when the Dark One told me he’d originally recruited you to help rewrite the happy endings. I’ve never seen you as a villain, not like the others. To me, you were always a hero who just lacked heroic opportunities.’

‘And who was in control of the pen?’ Ursula asked sarcastically. ‘You know, when I missed all those _heroic opportunities_?’

‘Oh, you misunderstand. I can’t change stories, I merely record them. I was never allowed to interfere.’

‘What? Like you didn’t interfere with Cru’s?’ The Sea Witch snapped before shaking her head. ‘How Rumple thought you could ever help is beyond me.’

Isaac looked down, clearly lacking any sort of response. The two stood in silence for a couple of minutes, both focused on the grave before them. _It wasn’t what Cruella wanted_ , Ursula couldn’t help but think. _She_ _wanted something grand, the most expensive grave marker possible, of course_. Though she supposed neither Rumple nor Isaac were willing to pay for that.

‘I never realised that yours and Cruella’s stories crossed. Or, at least not enough for you to return just for her,’ Isaac eventually remarked, though his eyes remained downcast.

‘You mean you didn’t record that?’

‘I didn’t record every event that happened in the Enchanted Forest. That would have been nearly impossible.’ He fell silent again, before asking, ‘Did you love her?’

‘Yes,’ she answered, hoping he wouldn’t inquire any further into her answer. The last thing she wanted to be discussing with this stranger was what happened between her and the socialite.

‘I loved her,’ Isaac said plainly, causing Ursula to look at him, frowning.

‘With what you did to her? You still claim to have loved her?’

‘I didn’t love that part of her. That part of her scared me. But I loved the rest of her. I loved the innocent girl I met before she was ever corrupted. Though, of course, I’ll never know if she loved me, in her own way. She wasn’t the sort of person to ever let you know about those feelings.’

‘Yes, she was.’ Ursula shook her head furiously, disbelieving of the words that were spilling off of the Author’s tongue. ‘Cruella loved. She loved violently and passionately, and she always showed it. She struggled to hide it. She loved diamonds, and furs, and liquor. She loved Mal. And me, she loved me. If you don’t know whether she loved you, then she didn’t.’ She couldn’t stop herself now; her loyalty to the villainess had sparked her rage. ‘And you never loved her, not if you didn’t love her all. Cru was never _the innocent girl_. She was dark, and twisted, a murderess from childhood. And that was her. That was the ‘her’ that she wanted to be. You took that from her. You took her happy ending. Cru was evil, yes, but in her story, you were the villain.’

The Sea Witch didn’t want to wait for his response. His response sparked no interest in her. Instead, she turned on her heel and walked away, leaving the Author stood on his own beside the grave of the woman he’d spent his whole life in delusional love with.

* * *

 

She tried to close the door quietly behind her, removing her heels almost as soon as she stepped inside just to limit the amount of noise she would make as she walked through the house. In tights, she padded through the living room into the sole bedroom in the cabin on the edge of Storybrooke she’d been living in for the past week. She pushed the door open lightly, attempting desperately not to disturb the inhabitant inside.

‘How’s my grave looking, darling?’ At the sound of the low voice from inside, Ursula almost threw the door open in shock. Her face must have given something away, because Cruella chuckled softly from the bed. ‘You weren’t expecting this, were you Ursula darling?’

She’d been caring for an unconscious Cruella since the fight between the villain and the saviour on the cliff side. Ursula didn’t know the details, all she knew was that the woman’s body had been limp since then, the only sign of life that been the faint rising and falling of her chest with each fluttering breath. _She thought she’d lose her_. ‘You’re awake. How long have you…how did you know where I’ve been?’

‘Trumpet flowers have a very distinctive smell, and I can’t imagine where else you’d be putting them.’

‘How long have you been awake?’

‘Only since you’ve been gone. Come closer, darling. I feel too ghastly to be talking like this.’ She had somehow hoisted herself into a sitting position, though the villain’s face was pale, almost grey, as if the effort of just being awake was too much for her. Her eyes were dark, but with bruising rather than the heavy eyeshadow she usually wore. Her lips were colourless. Her hair hung limply. She made for a pitiful sight, though that wasn’t enough to inspire Ursula to move any closer. At her resistance, Cruella pouted slightly. ‘Please, Ursula darling, I need you closer. I don’t even know where I am, I don’t have the effort to argue with you again.’

‘Cru.’ The Sea Witch shook her head and walked over, perching as lightly as she could on the bed, so as not to disturb the other woman. ‘Can you remember what happened to you?’

She frowned, before nodding gently. ‘The sheriff. Regina’s precious little saviour. She threw me from the cliff. I thought I was going to die.’ She laughed, though out of fear and disbelief rather than amusement, before frowning once more at Ursula. ‘You saved me? And there was me thinking you’d left me to swim off into the sunset with daddy.’

Her words were bitter, vicious, but she couldn’t quite manage the harsh tone to go with them. The most she could master was hurt. Ursula reached out a hand and took Cruella’s, rubbing the skin softly with her thumb. ‘Yes. I came back. I saw you fall, I couldn’t do anything to stop it happening. But I did manage to get you to this cabin and treat you. Magic healed your bones, though it will take time for the pain to go, and you will be weak for a while,’ she explained before sighing. ‘What happened, Cru? What did you do?’

‘All I wanted was my happy ending. You hardly left me a lot of choice, darling? You’d swam off to reclaim your glory days with the fish, meanwhile Mal found out everything we did to her little brat. Plus the Author was going to tell Rumple that I’d lied about knowing him. I just thought if I could find a way to kill the Author and reclaim what he took, well then I’d be free. I could leave. Find a way back home. Go back to being the villain I’d always wanted to be, rather than relying on other people to do my dirty work for me. After all, if everyone else can get their happy endings, why not me?’ She’d become agitated while talking, her eyes bright, but she closed them and leant back into the pillows once more. ‘But damn Regina’s too soft now. I thought I could get her to kill the Author for me. It turns out the Evil Queen couldn’t even manage that. Who’d have thought it? Instead, I end up in a face-off with Storybrooke’s so-called saviour with no way of defending myself.’

‘Cru, I never thought…I never wanted this. I didn’t even think about Mal finding out…’

‘Why would you? You had what you wanted. I don’t even know why you’re back now. Was your happy ending not all you thought it would be?’

It had been a cruel taunt, and Ursula hated the look of surprise on her lover’s face when she nodded. ‘Yes.’

‘Darling?’

‘Yes, Cru, you’re right. It wasn’t what I wanted. It’s never really been what I wanted. And you can stop looking like that.’

‘Well, excuse me for looking a bit flabbergasted, but that was always what you told me. And you were so hurt when I lied to you.’

‘I never lied to you. I thought it was my happy ending. Ever since I was a girl, retrieving my voice has always been what I thought would make me happy.’ The Sea Witch looked up, shaking her head, trying not to let any memories of her time back home cause tears to form in her eyes. ‘But that was the problem; I’ve lived my whole life chasing the happy ending of a girl. A girl who clung to her voice as the last memory of her mother, and the only way to connect with a grieving father. But I’m not that girl anymore. I haven’t been that girl in years. It took me three days of being home for me to realise that I don’t belong there anymore. I’ve been a villain almost my whole life, I can’t give that part of me up so easily. I was wreaking revenge on my father for years longer than I was living with him. After three days I knew that. And then I knew you were right.’

‘I’ve not heard many people say that to me, you might have to clarify.’ Cruella arched an eyebrow, before patting the bed beside her. ‘I’m not made of glass, Ursula darling, you can sit closer. And I still can’t kill anyone, so if you’re worried about that at all…’

‘I’m trying not to hurt you, Cru.’

‘Oh darling, I’ve had hangovers worse than this. You should have seen me after my first wedding.’ She joked, but she couldn’t quite manage the tone to go with it. Still, Ursula climbed in to the bed beside her, and Cruella rested her head against the Sea Witch’s shoulder with a slight wince. ‘So, tell me more about me being right.’

‘I judged you for your happy ending. I judged you for wanting back something that had been taken from you, exactly the same as what I wanted, because of what it was that you’d lost. I judged you for your darkness, as if I wasn’t the exact same. But you’re right. I’ve killed more people than I can remember. I’ve ruined lives for nothing more than my own enjoyment. Who am I to judge you? I’m not some hero just because I wasn’t born dark. I became dark out of my own choice. If anything, that’s worse, surely?’ She asked, frowning. The other woman lifted her head from the Sea Witch’s shoulder and looked at her. ‘I’m a villain, Cru. I like being a villain. I don’t need a happy ending like some pathetic hero. I just need you. I came back the minute I realised that. You understand me. You understand me more than my father ever could. More than anyone ever could. I’m sorry I let this happen to you. But I came back to help you. We can still get your happy ending, if that’s what you want.’

It was a sincere offer, and the socialite couldn’t help but be warmed by the notion, though she laughed it off as much as she could without causing herself any pain. ‘Oh, I’d much rather not, darling. Mal wants my head, and I’ve already had to deal with her once, I’m not sure I have the effort to do that all again. Plus the Dark One would happily offer his services now, as well. He never intended for any of us to get our happy endings, he’s as awful as he’s always been,’ she said, waving a hand dismissively, before meeting Ursula’s gaze. ‘If you must know, I’d be very happy just to leave them all. I’m sick of listening to all these ghastly heroes. I’m sick of all these twisted morals being thrust on us like children. And now we have magic, we could go home. That would just be wonderful. You and me, back in the Enchanted Forest, just like it used to be.’

‘I have missed it.’

‘And I don’t want to go without you, Ursula. I don’t think I could have coped much longer in this town without you. Surrounded by all these pathetic heroes. Even Mal’s going soft being here.’

‘We can go home, Cru. As soon as you can, we’ll go. We can go back to being villains, real villains. Together.’ She smiled, a mixture of relief and happiness surging through her body at being back with the socialite, the two united once more.

‘Oh, I missed you, darling,’ Cruella purred, leaning in as if to kiss the Sea Witch before whispering, ‘now let’s finally leave this ghastly realm behind us.’


End file.
